Global Witness is calling on the Honduran government
to launch an immediate investigation into the killing of Berta Cáceres, a high-profile
activist who campaigned for the defence of indigenous land rights. Cáceres was shot dead in her home town in Honduras, less
than a year since she was awarded the
2015 Goldman Environmental Prize - a prestigious award
recognizing grassroots environmental activists from around the world. (1)

Cáceres helped expose the acute
vulnerability of indigenous activists in Honduras, the world’s most dangerous
country per capita to be an environmental or land defender. According to Global
Witness research at least 101 people were killed in the country between
2010 and 2014, linked
to a surge in destructive agriculture, mining and dam projects.

Cáceres had received multiple death threats, attempted
kidnappings and threats of sexual assault because of her opposition to a hydro-electric
dam being built on indigenous community
land in Río Blanco. The
Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) had granted Cáceres emergency protection measures, which she
claimed were
not being implemented by the Honduran state.

“The shocking news of Berta’s killing should come as a
dramatic wake-up call for the Honduran state,” said Billy Kyte, Senior
Campaigner for Global Witness. “Indigenous people are being killed in alarming
numbers simply for defending rights to their land. The Honduran state must act
immediately to find Berta’s killers and protect her family and colleagues.”

Global Witness’ report How
Many More found that in 2014 at least 116 environmental activists were
murdered - almost double the number of journalists killed in the same
period. 40 % of victims were indigenous, with most people dying amid
disputes over hydropower, mining and agri-business. Nearly three-quarters
of the deaths were in Central and South America.

At around midnight on 2
March 2016 gunmen broke down the door of the house where Cáceres was
staying in La Esperanza, western Honduras, and shot and killed her. Threats against Cáceres and her colleagues had
escalated in recent weeks, following a peaceful protest by her community
against the Agua Zarca dam. (2) Construction of the dam was recently reinitiated
following a brief interruption in the wake of protests.

Cáceres was the General Coordinator of COPINH (the Civic Council
of Popular Indigenous Organisations of Honduras). Since 2011 COPINH has been
campaigning for the defence of the rights of the indigenous Lenca people, including
that communities should be consulted before governments and companies can
develop on their land.

In Cáceres’ acceptance speech at the Goldman Environmental
Prize ceremony she remarked on the situation facing her community, saying, “They
follow me and threaten to kidnap and kill me. They threaten my family. This is
what we have to face.”

Honduras’ obligation under international law (3) demands
that indigenous people are consulted on projects that affect their land. This
has been ignored by the dam owners, the Honduran company DESA. The project is also partly financed by the
Dutch development bank FMO. (4)

“Berta’s bravery in the face of overwhelming repression will
be a rallying call for environmental activism in Honduras,” said David Gordon,
Executive Director of the Goldman Prize. “The Honduran government must ensure
all threatened activists are granted immediate protection.”